Titan 167

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By the time Charles was four, the whispers had faded into nothing. He had no memory of the chaos that had once surrounded his family. Life had settled into a peaceful rhythm.

His parents‘ relationship seemed solid, and the outside world had no idea about the drama that had once unfolded behind closed doors.

Dylan had that corporate–perfect look that made him seem untouchable. If you didn’t look beneath that flawless façade, you’d never guess what was really going on in his head.

As Charles settled back into the car, he couldn’t help thinking–‘Guess that emotional detachment runs in the family.‘

As Charles leaned back, he heard Yolanda mumble by his side, “We should really drop by more often. This place is pretty far from downtown.”

Charles felt comforted. He scooped her into his arms and gently brushed the tip of her nose.

“My little straight–laced one, don’t you ever hold a grudge?” Charles teased.

It had been ages since she’d heard him call her that–ever since they’d gotten married, Charles hadn’t used that nickname.

“But she’s your sister,” Yolanda said, snuggling closer.

She nestled into his arms, looking sleepy and spent.

After all those rounds of passion last night, and rushing off to Starlight Entertainment first thing this morning, she was completely wiped out.

Charles leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss onto her hair.

For once, the car felt cozy and peaceful–until Charles’s phone started ringing, breaking the mood.

Yolanda’s eyelashes fluttered. ‘Looks like Joelle is about to stir things up, she thought.

Charles glanced at his phone. Sure enough, it was Joelle calling. He answered.

“What’s up?” he asked.

Joelle sounded scared, her face drained of color under her mask and hat. “Charles, remember that obsessive fan I told you about? He followed me all the way back here. I’m heading to my hotel right now, but I can’t shake the feeling that someone’s trailing me.”

Joelle Monroe was the kind of international A–lister who drew crowds no matter where she went. Barely back for a day, and her fan count had already soared past twenty million.

Superstar stalkers and over–the–top fans? Yeah, those could get straight–up scary.

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Charles frowned, his hand subconsciously tightening around Yolanda’s waist. “Send me your location”

“O–Okay.” Joelle stammered, quickly sending over her address.

She shakily dropped him her location.

By now, Charles’s car had entered the city–it wasn’t far from Moonbay Estate now.

“Yolanda, you should head back. Someone I know ran into some trouble, so I need to go check it out,” he said.

Yolanda nodded obediently and got out of the car. “Be careful, okay?”

Charles glanced at her calm face and knew for certain she had no idea Joelle was back.

If she did, there’s no way she’d be this calm.

Back when Charles would stand her up to meet Joelle, Yolanda always ended up hiding somewhere to cry her heart out, alone and unnoticed.

After the car drove off, Yolanda quietly grabbed a cab, heading to Ian’s place–she just needed somewhere familiar to wait out the night.

‘Looks like Charles won’t be coming home tonight.‘ Yolanda thought to herself, a wave of loneliness washing over her.

After a quick shower, she flopped onto the bed in the master bedroom, scrolling through her phone to catch up on the latest trending topics.

Sophie was really pushing herself—she’d been livestreaming non–stop for nine hours since noon. The controversy about the CEO of Starlight Entertainment mistreating talent was getting hotter by the minute, but so far, none of Sophie’s photos had leaked. Meanwhile, furious netizens had already surrounded the Starlight building, yelling for Yolanda to show herself.

When Mary Hall got the news, she instantly called Sophie, sounding almost frantic.

“Are you crazy? Everything Ms. Grant’s ever done was for her talent, and now you just betray her like this? Sophie, I used to think you were just clueless–but at least you were sweet. Never thought you could be this toxic!” Mary snapped, voice full of disappointment and rage.

Sophie always saw Mary as her big sister, someone to complain and cry to in the office. Mary had always been a good listener. She never thought Mary would call her out like this, even accuse her of being cruel.

‘It must be something Yolanda said. No way Mary would flip on me this fast otherwise, Sophie thought miserably.

“Ms. Hall, she had it coming! She dumped over ten million in loans on nobodies like me–does she want my life ruined? She basically wants me destroyed! She doesn’t even care if I live or die!” Sophie shot back, fired

Mary was genuinely worried about Yolanda and decided there was no point in arguing with Sophie any longer, so she shot Yolanda a message instead.

11:16 Mon, Oct 6

[Ms. Grant, I’ll step out and help clear things up for you.]

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Not that it would change much, but at least she could draw some of the heat away from Yolanda.

Yolanda shot back almost instantly.

[Don’t. Just leave it alone.]

Mary never questioned Yolanda–if she said to stay out of it, then Mary was sure it was the smart play.

Meanwhile, the online storm was only getting worse.

As Yolanda refreshed her Twitter feed, sure enough, Joelle Monroe’s post popped right up.

Joelle had shared a shot from a luxurious hotel suite–the huge windows caught the reflection of two figures.

One was clearly her, and the other, even though you couldn’t really see his face, was unmistakably Charles.

Anyone familiar with him could tell right away who it was.

And Joelle’s caption? Definitely attention–grabbing.

[After everything, it’s still you who cares about me the most.]

Yolanda found it pretty funny but resisted hitting like–since they shared a bunch of mutual friends, no need to stir up unnecessary trouble.

Below the post, a bunch of familiar names started popping up.

[Is that Yolanda who’s trending on Twitter the same person?]

[Congrats on coming back, Joelle! Looks like someone’s finally getting kicked to the curb.]

[Joelle, you’re getting more stunning by the day. You two look perfect together.]

Most people in the industry still had no clue Yolanda was now running Starlight Entertainment. Everyone figured she was still just a stay–at–home wife, so at first, no one thought it was her–they just figured it was someone with the same name.

Netizens were trying to dig up photos of her, but so far, nothing had come up.

Yolanda had full faith in Sinclair Group’s PR team. After all, she was Mrs. Sinclair. If her photos started spreading everywhere, it would be a disaster for the company. So the PR team was keeping a tight lid on her images, and if anyone tried to leak them, they’d get Twitter to take them down immediately.

That’s also why Yolanda wasn’t in any hurry to file for divorce–Charles was a solid tree to lean on, and she

liked the shade.